


Bright

by blarkeontheark



Series: take those wings you grew and fly up to the sun (a summer with the delinquents) [2]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: But also more fluff, F/F, F/M, Fourth of July, M/M, More angst, and everyone's in an established relationship now, anyway, have fun with that, or harper and monroe, well not mackson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-08 07:05:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12859338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blarkeontheark/pseuds/blarkeontheark
Summary: The gang joins Clarke at Abby and Kane's house for an Independence Day party, one month after their weekend at the lake house. The only problem? Bellamy's gone missing.





	1. Chapter 1

“Would you STOP being so Canadian?” Clarke yelled into the phone.

Amazingly enough, it wasn’t the first time she’d said that. Today. In the past hour. It just happened that her stupid boyfriend and his stupid sister were still prancing around with their Canada Day t-shirts, one day after Canada Day and two days before Independence Day. For America, goddamn it.

And for the past hour, they’d been arguing about…what? Polar bears? Maple syrup? Hockey?

“I will not,” Bellamy said primly. “See you tomorrow, Princess.”

“Ugh.” Clarke hit the end button, trying not to smile. Annoying piece of shit, he was.

“Whoa, is that Clarke smiling?” Jasper, who had just emerged from the Kane-Griffin’s giant kitchen with a bottle of vitamin water and a bag of cheese snacks, pretended to do a double-take. “Don’t blow a gasket, Griffin.”

“Shut up.” Clarke peered at the bottle he was holding. “Vitamin water?”

“Yeah, I thought it might taste fruity. There’s no alcohol in the fridge.”

“That’s because my mother doesn’t want you raiding all of it two days early,” Clarke explained. “As you were clearly about to.”

Jasper huffed. “When does Monty get here?”

“You keep asking me that like I know. He’s your boyfriend. Everyone’s responsible for their own significant others,” Clarke said, plucking the Cheetos out of Jasper’s hand. “When did he say he was going to get here?”

“Tonight,” Jasper said, smiling. “I miss him, Clarke. Like, really, really miss him. Is this what it feels like to be in a normal relationship?”

“You’re such a child, Jasper.” Clarke popped a Cheeto in her mouth. “Gross, these are the puffy ones. Why does my mom have the worst taste in snack food?”

The front door opened, and Abby entered, holding the door for Marcus, who was laden down with grocery bags. “Jasper!” she smiled. “Good to see you.”

“You too, Doc.” Jasper leaned in for the obligatory hug. 

“I thought you were driving Monty up?” she asked.

“Uh, no. Monty’s catching a ride with Harper. And…Miller.”

“I thought Miller wasn’t coming,” Abby commented.

“He changed his mind at the last minute,” Clarke said. She and Jasper exchanged a look that Abby seemed to miss.

“That’s fine, then. He can room with you and Jasper, right?” she said brightly.

Clarke’s eyes widened. “I think he’d be better off rooming with Bellamy and Lincoln,” she interjected. “Definitely better off.”

“I hope that’s okay with them,” Abby said.

“It will be,” Clarke said quickly.

“Okay.” Abby lifted her hands in surrender. “Come help me unload groceries, Clarke.” 

As soon as they had left, Jasper whipped out his phone to text Monty.

JASPER, 2:46 PM: yo, wya? eta? check in

Two seconds later, his phone beeped with a reply.

MONTY, 2:46 PM: Jasper, I don’t know any of those acronyms.

JASPER, 2:47 PM: yo. where you @. estimated time of arrival. how soon will you be here. im dying monty dying

MONTY, 2:48 PM: Harper says we’re about twenty minutes out. We just entered Arkadia city limits.

JASPER, 2:48 PM: great. see you soon. miss you. love you.

MONTY, 2:48 PM: You’ll only have to miss me for 20 more minutes.

Jasper grinned and pocketed his phone just as Clarke burst in, staggering under the weight of grocery bags.

“Did Kane buy the whole store, or what?” Jasper asked, grabbing a bag.

“Oh, like you guys aren’t going to eat all of it,” she countered. “Ever try feeding a bunch of hungry twenty-year-olds?”

Jasper raised his eyebrows, choosing not to respond to that. “Monty will be here in twenty minutes.”

“That’s great,” Clarke said enthusiastically. “Keep the PDA to a minimum, for the love of Jesus.”

“No promises.”

…

It had been fine. It was all fine. No worries. Everyone was…fine.

Okay. It was supremely awkward. Monty hadn’t talked to Miller much since the breakup, so a four-hour car ride to Kane and Abby’s house was…not the best four hours of his life.

For the tenth time, as they were five minutes away, he wished he’d just snagged a ride with Jasper two days ago. 

“Listen,” Miller hedged. “We don’t even have to talk this weekend.”

Monty chewed on his lower lip. “It’s not that I don’t want to be friends with you.”

Miller sighed, slightly frustrated. “I’m just…not totally over you, okay? I mean, I mostly am, so it’s not really a big deal—”

“Hey,” Harper interrupted mildly from the driver’s seat. “Can we keep the awkward conversation to a minimum? Wrap it up, we’re almost there.”

“Fine.” Miller glanced at Monty. “Friends?”

“Really?”

“Monty.”

“Okay.” Monty impulsively extended a hand. “Friends.”

…

“They’re here!” Clarke called.

Jasper, who had been slouched on the sofa, was on his feet in seconds, dashing towards the door as it swung open.

The anticipation, he told himself, was needless. He’d known Monty for years. Since middle school. Elementary, if you wanted to get really picky.

But Monty had only been his boyfriend for about a month.

And there he was, with his shaggy dark hair, laden down with a giant duffel bag, staring directly at Jasper. 

Monty dropped his bags and flung both his arms around Jasper. Jasper nearly crushed him to death.

“Ahem,” a gruff voice sounded from behind them. “You’re blocking the entire doorway.”

“Sorry,” Monty mumbled, shuffling sideways. He focused his attention back on Jasper. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” Jasper echoed.

“Enough,” Harper teased. “It’s been a month. You text each other every single day.”

Jasper let go first, stepping back so he could see Monty properly. It had only been a month, but already his hair was a little bit longer.

And he looked…happy. Not just cheerful, but really, really happy.

Jasper glanced up as Abby came down the stairs. “Harper, Miller, Monty!”

“Hey, Dr. Griffin,” Harper smiled. “Thanks for letting us come up.”

“Anytime.” Abby looked slightly distracted. “Honey, have you seen my phone?”

Clarke shook her head. “Did you leave it in the car?”

A buzzing sounded in Abby’s pocket. She closed her eyes, looking exasperated.

“Great. I’m losing my mind.” She checked the screen quickly. “Oh, Clarke, I forgot to tell you. Jackson’s coming home for the weekend.”

Clarke’s eyes lit up. Her mom’s former assistant, who she basically considered an older brother, hadn’t come by in ages. “That’s great,” she said. 

“Who’s Jackson?” Miller asked.

“He used to work at Go-Sci,” Clarke said, referring to the medical center where Abby was a doctor. “Now he’s on some big scholarship program up in Canada.”

“Is anyone else coming tonight?” Harper asked.

Clarke checked her phone. She had a list of who was coming, and everyone’s arrival times. “Emori’s flying in from Phoenix tonight, and Murphy’s picking her up at the airport. They should get here late, probably between 10 and 11.” She scrolled again. “Bellamy and Octavia’s flight in from Toronto lands at 5 AM, so they’re probably going to want to sleep as soon as they get here.”

Jasper grinned. “Before everyone else gets here…”

He reached under the sofa and slid out three boxes of cards. 

“Cards Against Humanity?” Miller flopped down on the sofa, opening a box and emptying the contents onto the coffee table. “I’m in.”

…

Two hours later, Jasper and Monty were tied in the lead, with Miller following closely behind.

“Your turn to judge.” Clarke shoved a card at Miller, who flipped it over and read it aloud.

“I spent my whole life working towards…blank, only to have it ruined by…blank.”

Miller leaned back and watched as Monty furiously went through his cards, every so often trying to sneak a peek at Jasper’s.

“Done!” Harper slammed her cards on the table. “Suck on that, everyone else can go home.”

“Jesus Christ.” Jasper selected two cards. “First one goes on the bottom, guys.”

Quickly, Monty and Clarke both picked their cards and slid them towards Miller. Monty didn’t look up.

I shouldn’t have said what I said, Miller thought. I’m happy for him. He deserves this.

He didn’t say anything, though, just rotated the various cards until he couldn’t tell which group came from which person.

He cleared his throat, picking up the first cards. “I spent my whole life working towards incurable debt, only to have it ruined by…Italians.”

Clarke looked pleased with herself as three heads turned towards her. “What? That was funny!”

“Okay,” Monty mumbled. Jasper laughed.

Miller smiled slightly. “I spent my whole life working towards being a motherfucking sorcerer, only to have it ruined by…white privilege.”

Jasper swiveled his head between Monty and Harper. “Which one of you?”

“No comment,” Monty replied.

As Miller reached for the next set, he failed to notice the sound of a key in the door. Or the door being pushed open. Or someone stepping inside.

“I spent my whole life working towards snorting coke off a clown’s boner, only to have it ruined by warm, velvety muppet sex.”

Clarke stiffened as the person at the door burst out laughing. Miller’s eyes widened as he turned his head.

The guy was literally one of the most beautiful people he’d ever seen in his life. And he had just heard that sentence come out of Miller’s mouth.

“It looks like I’ve intruded on a really fascinating conversation,” the boy said. “Interesting group of friends you have, Clarke.”

“Shut up, Jackson, we’re playing Cards Against Humanity,” Clarke scoffed. “Guys, this is Jackson. Jackson, this is Harper, Jasper, Monty and Miller.”

Jackson smiled.

“Sorry about…the clown boner conversation,” Miller mumbled.

“The what?” Abby had emerged from the stairs once again, and now she was frowning at Miller.

“Put your foot in your mouth one more time,” Jasper advised.

“We’re playing Cards Against Humanity!” Clarke shouted.

“So it seems,” Jackson said wryly. “I hope whoever played that sequence wins.”

He disappeared upstairs with Abby, presumably to put his stuff away.

Miller dropped his head into his hands. “Fuck. Goddamn it. You didn’t tell me he was hot, Clarke.”

“My apologies,” Clarke said dryly. “I didn’t think I had to update you on the hotness of my family friends. Do you want to hear about Wells Jaha next?”

“Speaking of Wells,” Jasper said. “I haven’t seen him in like, two years. Is he coming?”

Clarke nodded. “Monroe’s staying at his place, since we don’t have enough room here, and so are Raven and Luna. They’re coming over tomorrow so we can all hang out.”

Miller began sweeping the cards into a pile. “I don’t really feel like playing anymore.”

“Understandably,” Harper snickered.

“Wait!” Jasper protested. “Who won that round? Monty and I are still tied!”

“Clown boner.” Miller winged the card at him. “Congratulations.”

“Damn it,” Monty complained.

“It’s okay,” Jasper said, sliding an arm around him. “I still love you, you inferior being.”

Monty smiled slightly.

Miller noticed Monty kept looking over at him, as if to make sure he wasn’t uncomfortable, upset by the prospect of him and Jasper together. Especially now that it wasn’t just over a quick FaceTime call from a hundred miles away.

But really, the two of them just made sense.

So the next time Monty caught his eye, he gave a halfhearted smile and shook his head, hoping to convey all of his thoughts into that one look.

It’s okay, he wanted to say. It’s all okay with me.

…

Murphy checked the time, sitting in the dingy baggage claim at Philadelphia International Airport. Gone were the days one could show up at the gate to surprise your girlfriend and envelope her in a hug, or whateverthefuck. TSA had gotten a lot more strict about that type of thing.

There was a weird display of contraptions, a Rube Goldberg-esque machine, in a glass case on the far wall, and a gaggle of small children that all seemed to be part of one family were crowded around it.

A text from Clarke popped up on his screen, disturbing his Very Important game of Blossom Blast. 

Okay, so he was bored out of his mind, and this was the only game on his phone that he hadn’t run out of lives with.

Clarke, 6:32 PM: Emori land yet?

John, 6:32 PM: nope. she was due about seven minutes ago. so she’s probably making her way to baggage claim.

Clarke, 6:32 PM: Still due up here around ten?

John, 6:33 PM: could be earlier, depending how many speed limits i want to break.

Clarke, 6:33 PM: For the love of Jesus, do not get arrested and miss the party.

Clarke, 6:33 PM: Have a safe trip up. Give Emori my love.

John, 6:34 PM: gotcha. tell everyone there i say hi and fuck them for getting there first.

Clarke, 6:34 PM: Will do.

He pocketed his phone just as a crowd of people piled onto the escalator down to baggage claim. He scanned the crowd, searching—and there she was, beaming, swirling tattoo across her face marking her distinctly from the rest of the crowd.

Call them cliché, but a classic running hug was exactly what Murphy needed right at that moment. 

“How was the flight?” he asked.

Emori rolled her eyes. “Not the best. I have to tell you about the guy I sat next to who wouldn’t stop asking about the glove on my hand. He had that overpriced in-flight Wi-Fi, apparently unaware that I could SEE HIS PHONE right in front of me, and texting his side hoe about the weird punk kid next to him on the plane. I think he referred to me as Captain Hook at one point.” She beamed up at him, eyes full of life despite just getting off a five-hour flight. “A Disney villain is a compliment, really. I’ve been called worse.”

Murphy threw an arm around her as they walked to the baggage carousel to grab her suitcase. “Clarke texted a few minutes ago, confirming what time we’ll be there. I think she misses us.”

Emori hid a smile. “I could get used to being missed.”

He leaned down to kiss her. “Believe me, I miss you whenever you’re not within a one-mile radius.”


	2. Chapter 2

“I can’t believe they’re driving all the way up from Philadelphia.”

Clarke laughed. “I can’t believe you’re flying in all the way from Toronto.”

“At least our flight got moved up.” It was now 8:38 PM, Eastern Standard Time, and Bellamy was sprawled on a chair at the gate while Octavia went to get snacks for the plane.

Clarke, aware of the way the camera distorted her face unflatteringly, adjusted a chunk of her hair. “What time are we picking you up?”

He made a face. “How about midnight?”

Clarke groaned. “The airport is so far. Maybe I should just send Emori and Murphy to grab you guys on the way.”

“Stop it, Clarke, I want to see you.” He paused as the loudspeaker rang out in the background: FLIGHT 170 TO REYKJAVIK IS NOW BOARDING ALL REMAINING PASSENGERS. “I miss you.”

“Getting on a plane to Iceland?” Clarke teased.

“Not today, Princess.” 

Octavia appeared, holding a giant bag of sour Skittles in her left hand and a newsstand bag undoubtedly full of other food in her right. “Oh, Clarke! Hi! We’ll be there really soon!”

“I know,” Clarke said dryly. “I’m the one picking you up.”

“See you soon, then.”

“I think that’s my cue.” Bellamy shoved his sister off-camera. “Love you. See you soon.”

“Love you,” Clarke echoed as the phone beeped three times and the camera shut off.

Miller poked his head out of the kitchen. “There’s more pizza if you want it.”

“No, thanks,” Clarke said. “What I want is someone to join me for the drive to the airport, but you just want to hang out here and flirt with Jackson.”

“Guilty as charged.” 

Clarke rolled her eyes. “I’ll bring Monty and Jasper.”

“You’ll bring us where?” Monty asked. Clarke turned to see the two of them ambling down the stairs after having put their stuff away.

“Bell and Octavia’s flight gets in early,” she explained. “Around midnight. We’re picking them up from the airport.”

“Please tell me we’re going to sleep in tomorrow,” Jasper wheedled.

“If you come with me.”

“I’m in,” Monty said. 

Clarke glanced down at her phone as it lit up.

WELLS, 8:42 PM: Hey, Clarke. Monroe and Raven just got here. Still waiting on Luna.

Clarke looked up. “Plot twist. You guys are off the hook. Hey, Harper!” she called.

Harper, who was still gnawing on a piece of pizza, wandered into the living room. “Yeah?”

“You’re coming with me to the airport.” Clarke resumed texting. "I want you to meet someone."

CLARKE, 8:43 PM: Great. I’m borrowing all of you to pick up Bellamy and Octavia at the airport tonight. I haven’t seen you in forever.

WELLS, 8:43 PM: Monroe and I will come with you. Raven wants to stay and wait for Luna.

CLARKE, 8:43 PM: Fair enough. Be ready at 11.

WELLS, 8:43 PM: See you then.

…

JACKSON, 10:13 PM: Clarke

CLARKE, 10:13 PM: Why are you texting me? I’m two rooms away

JACKSON, 10:13 PM: What’s the story on your friend Miller?

CLARKE, 10:14 PM: If this is about the clown boner thing, I told you…

JACKSON, 10:14 PM: You were playing CAH, I know. No, I mean, what’s his deal? He’s really cute.

CLARKE, 10:14 PM: Oh, Jesus Christ, if you two are going to be pining after each other all weekend I will not be able to handle it.

JACKSON, 10:15 PM: So……single, then?

CLARKE, 10:15 PM: I do not have time for this. Ask him out. I’m not the middle man.

“Who are you texting?” Miller asked from across the room. Clarke almost dropped her phone.

“Uh, B—” she started. No, she couldn’t say Bellamy, he was still on a plane. “Wells,” she finished lamely.

“Bwells?” Harper raised an eyebrow. “Okay.”

JACKSON, 10:16 PM: Miller’s not even his first name, right? What’s his first name?

CLARKE, 10:16 PM: Nate.

“Tell Bwells I say hi,” Miller piped.

JACKSON, 10:17 PM: Should I come hang out with you guys? Is that weird?

CLARKE, 10:17 PM: No, it’s not weird. I missed you. 

CLARKE, 10:17 PM: Plus, everyone’s getting suspicious. Get your ass in here.

Two minutes later, Jackson ambled in. “Hey Clarke, what’s up?”

She shot him a look, and he grinned sheepishly.

“I have to borrow Monty, Jasper and Harper for a moment,” Clarke suddenly announced. “Come help me…figure out what sodas we need for Saturday.”

“Subtle,” Harper whispered. 

But the four left the room anyway, and as they huddled in the kitchen Clarke showed them the text exchange.

“Awesome,” Jasper hissed. “This is good. Miller deserves this.”

“So does Jackson,” Clarke said. “They both really needed something like this.”

…

“That was subtle,” Jackson grumbled as they left the room. 

“Subtle?” Miller twisted. “Subtle, how?”

Jackson flushed. “Subtle, as in I may have mentioned to Clarke that I wanted to get to know the cute boy playing Cards Against Humanity with her.”

“Oh.” Miller tried not to grin. “Well, as long as we’re being set up...no point wasting it, right?”

“I think it would be quite rude to waste it.”

…

LUNA, 10:56 PM: Running late.

RAVEN, 10:57 PM: I can see that. How far are you?

LUNA, 10:56 PM: Rest stop near Polis. Don’t know where the hell I’m going, but Google Maps says I’m about twenty minutes away.

RAVEN, 10:56 PM: Polis?!? We’re nowhere near there! What address did you put in?

LUNA, 10:57 PM: The wrong one, apparently…

RAVEN, 10:57 PM: Stay there. Send me your location. Wells and I are driving out to come get you.

“WELLS!” she yelled.

“Raven, what?”

“Clarke’s gonna have to go with just Monroe. I need you to come with me to get Luna.”

LUNA, 10:57 PM: You don’t have to do that.

RAVEN, 10:58 PM: Yeah, I do. It’s my responsibility as your girlfriend to bail you out of stupid shit you do.

RAVEN, 10:58 PM: I’m not gonna let you wander in the dark.

LUNA, 10:58 PM: I like you a lot, you know that?

RAVEN, 10:58 PM: I know.

…

“Where are Raven and Wells?”

Monroe shrugged, climbing into the passenger seat and tucking a stray red curl behind her ear. “They went to go find Luna. She’s lost.”

“Huh.” Clarke’s eyes flicked to the rearview mirror as she backed out of the Jaha’s driveway. “Oh, Harper, this is Zoe Monroe.”

Monroe blinked and turned. Sure enough, a girl with blonde hair was peering at her from the backseat. 

“Hi,” she offered. "Everyone just calls me Monroe."

“Hi.” Harper smiled. “Nice to finally meet you. Clarke keeps saying we’d get along well.”

“Yeah,” Monroe said. “Yeah.” She turned quickly to her phone, typing a message into the Notes app. “Hey, Clarke, look at this text I got from...Anya.”

Clarke frowned and glanced at the screen. 

WHY WOULD YOU PUT ME IN THE CAR WITH A HOT GIRL JESUS CHRIST

Clarke snorted. “I’m sure she will be fine.”

“She needs help,” Monroe said tightly. 

“What’s going on with Anya?” Harper asked, slightly concerned. 

Damn it. Monroe smoothed her hair back and glanced at Harper again. 

“Probably nothing,” she said. “She can handle it fine.”

Clarke smiled. “Damn right, she can.”

…

Miller didn’t know what time it was, and he didn’t care. He and Jackson had been talking for hours. The guy was absolutely fascinating. He was in med school, still, and in his spare time he mostly read and wrote. He was sweet, and slightly shy, and exactly Miller’s type.

And despite all the stupid things Miller was sure must have come out of his mouth, Jackson was watching him with the same rapt attention.

He didn’t know what time it was, and he was exhausted, but he didn’t want to move and break the spell. The two hadn’t exchanged numbers, or even talked about their dating life.

Steeling himself, Miller attempted to breach the subject. “With all that schoolwork, you must not have much time for a love life, huh?”

Jackson shrugged. “I’ve never really met anyone. Not much time to look.” He glanced at Miller, flushing slightly. “I’d make time.”

“I guess you wouldn’t object if…I asked you out, then?” Miller hedged. “I mean, I know you live pretty far from here, and you're busy with school and—”

“Yes,” Jackson said firmly. “Yeah. I would love to go out.”

Miller smiled. “Awesome.”

Jackson yawned, and Miller suddenly felt bad for keeping him up so late. “Well,” Jackson said, “I think I’ll get some sleep—I guess I’m rooming with Clarke tonight, then?”

“Probably.” He winced. “Shit, I left my stuff in Monty and Jasper’s room. I’ll have to go in and get it.”

Jackson hesitated. “You have some sort of history, right? With one of them?”

“Why do you think that?” Miller asked, trying to keep his tone light.

“The way you talk about them. Like you almost want them to be together, but there’s something holding you back.”

Jackson was incredibly perceptive. Something else Miller found insanely attractive.

“Monty and I used to go out,” he said.

He’d never said much to anyone about the depths of his feelings for Monty. How when Monty had left him, he told Bellamy it was fine, it was mutual, the relationship had run its course. How he hadn’t left his room for days, because he didn’t know how to function without him.

And Monty had never told anyone until this summer that they’d even been together. Forget how they were in love. Forget how Miller had envisioned them spending their lives together.

Now, he knew that Monty and Jasper were really the ones meant for each other. Now, he was okay. It could be summarized with a quick ‘we used to date.’

“I see.”

Judging from Jackson’s eyes meeting his, Jackson could hear every single unspoken word behind the phrase.

Perceptive.

When Miller quietly opened the door to grab his bag, the bed in the spare room was empty. Instead, Monty and Jasper were curled up together on the floor, deeply asleep, breathing in the air around each other, limbs entwined with limbs on top of sleeping bags and pillows.

He smiled, only slightly sadly.

He was done not being happy for Monty. Monty deserved everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> catch me on tumblr @snowylexa


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> no more fluff motherfuckers its full on panic time

Wells jerked the car onto the exit ramp for the service station six miles from Polis.

“I can’t believe you made me drive an hour for this,” he muttered.

Raven checked her phone. “It’s midnight,” she said. “I’ll drive Luna’s car, and we’ll be home by one.”

“Bellamy and Octavia’s plane probably landed by now,” Wells pointed out. 

Raven unbuckled her seatbelt, leaning forward. “There! That’s Luna’s car.”

“She’s probably inside.” Wells pulled into a parking space. “I’ll let you go grab her.”

Raven jumped out of the car, shoving her phone into her pocket, and practically ran for the doors. A light summer rain misted across her face as she dashed through the dark parking lot and seized the cold metal handle of the door.

Inside, there was a small spread of tourist souvenirs, Tim Horton’s and dingy-looking washrooms. Across the room, sitting on a bench by the window, engrossed in her phone—Luna.

“Luna!” Raven called. The room was empty, and Luna glanced up immediately, face breaking into a small smile when she saw Raven.

“You actually came,” she said, standing and crossing the room. “I didn’t think you would.”

Raven squeezed her hand. “Give me your keys,” she said. “I’ll drive you back to Arkadia.”

“Where’s Wells?” Luna asked as they stepped outside.

“There.” Raven waved as Wells flashed them a thumbs-up and pulled out of the parking lot, heading back towards the highway. “Okay. It’s about an hour’s drive from here.”

“You drove an hour?” Luna demanded. “At eleven o’clock at night? To come get me?”

Raven shrugged. “Yeah.”

Luna shook her head. “You’re incredible.”

…

At some point, Monroe had given up craning her neck and had actually climbed into the backseat to have a proper conversation with Harper. It was just as Clarke had hoped, but now she had no one to talk to.

Oh well. It was only a forty-five minute drive to the airport, and she’d have Bellamy to talk to on the way back.

Clarke’s phone chimed, and she passed it to the backseat. “Can you read that for me?”

“It’s Luna,” Harper said. “She was just checking in to say that Raven picked her up from Polis—Polis?!?—and they’re on their way back to the Jaha’s.”

“Raven went all the way to Polis?” Clarke demanded. “That’s commitment.”

“You’re going all the way to the airport for Bellamy,” Monroe pointed out.

Touché. 

“We’re five minutes from the airport,” Clarke said. “It’s 11:38. With any luck, we’ll beat their plane.”

“There. Terminal E,” Monroe directed. “All incoming international flights.”

They shuddered across the speed bumps and into the short-term parking lot.

“Okay.” Clarke glanced in the rearview mirror as she turned the ignition off. Her hair was a lot shorter than when she’d last seen Bellamy, and curled, and even though she’d FaceTimed him about six times over the past month, she’d always been careful not to reveal it, or the streaks of color in it.

“You look great,” Harper said. “Clarke, it’s Bellamy. He loves you.”

“Yeah, okay.” Clarke climbed out of the car, waiting for the other girls to shut their doors before she locked it.

In baggage claim, the monitor for Bellamy and Octavia’s flight announced that the plane was just arriving. “Perfect,” Clarke said. 

Monroe settled in a chair. “They’ll be a good ten minutes.”

Clarke nodded, trying to keep herself from jumping clear out of her skin. 

“Ten minutes,” she repeated. “Okay.”

…

Monty shifted. Jasper had accidentally rolled in his sleep, pinning his arm. The pain was enough to wake him.

He studied Jasper after wiggling his arm free. He was all tangled dark hair and cheekbones and fluttering eyelids. He knew from sharing a room with Jasper many times in the past that he usually snored, but not tonight. Tonight he was so deeply asleep that he was completely silent.

It was new, and different, and he wondered why he hadn’t told Jasper how he felt before.

This was how it was supposed to be.

…

“You know I have to drive myself home, right?”

Raven smiled slightly. “I did know that. Really, i had faith that you could find your way here.” She pulled into the driveway. “I just wanted to pick you up, you know? Murphy picked Emori up. Clarke picked Bellamy up.”

“I figured that part out,” Luna said. 

“Good.” 

…

CLARKE, 12:01 AM: We’re at baggage claim.

There was no response. Her message hadn’t even delivered. 

“United States,” Monroe reminded her. “He probably doesn’t have service.”

Right. Phone service. Bellamy’s phone was set to a Canadian network.

“They’ll be here soon,” Harper said. “Octavia probably has leftover food.”

“Hey, Octavia!” Monroe shouted, breaking away from the group. “Octavia!”

Clarke’s heart leapt, and she scanned the crowd. Octavia was there, beaming and waving, but Bellamy was not behind her.

“Where’s Bellamy?” Harper whispered.

Clarke surged forward, hugging Octavia quickly before releasing her. “Where’s Bellamy?” she repeated.

“What do you mean? He’s right behind me.” Octavia spun. “Or…he was a minute ago.”

“Probably just went to the bathroom,” Monroe theorized. “He’ll be here, Clarke. Don’t worry.”

“Not worried,” Clarke said. “Definitely not worried.”

“I’ll grab our luggage,” Octavia said. “He’ll be here any minute now.”

…

CLARKE, 1:19 AM: Bellamy’s missing.

RAVEN, 1:21 AM: What the hell do you mean, he’s missing?

CLARKE, 1:21 AM: WHAT PART OF MISSING DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND

RAVEN. 1:21 AM: When did he go missing?

CLARKE, 1:21 AM: Somewhere between customs and baggage claim.

RAVEN, 1:22 AM: But…there’s nothing except bathrooms between customs and baggage claim

CLARKE, 1:22 AM: Exactly.

CLARKE, 1:22 AM: We checked the bathrooms. He’s not there. He’s not anywhere. We asked the customs guys, and they haven’t seen him either.

RAVEN, 1:22 AM: Are they looking?

CLARKE, 1:23 AM: Yeah because the federal government is going to give a shit that my boyfriend is missing. As long as he clears customs, they don’t care.

RAVEN, 1:23 AM: So where are you now?

CLARKE, 1:24 AM: Baggage claim. Where else could we go?

RAVEN, 1:24 AM: You’ve tried calling and texting?

CLARKE, 1:24 AM: His phone doesn’t work in the States. Nothing will go through.

CLARKE, 1:24 AM: Octavia’s out of her mind.

RAVEN, 1:24 AM: So am I. And so are you.

…

The house phone rang twice before someone picked it up.

Miller glanced at the clock. 1:30 AM. He rolled out of bed and stumbled into the hallway, where Jackson’s hushed voice was in conversation.

“…let them know,” Jackson said. “No. No, he hasn’t been here. I’m sorry.”

“What’s going on?” Miller asked sleepily.

Jackson held up a hand, listening intently. “Okay. Okay. I think you should come home, and maybe Raven or Monty can try to track his cell phone,” he said. “He’s not at the airport, Clarke.”

Monty frowned, moving closer in hopes of hearing the other end of the conversation. 

“Okay,” Jackson said. “See you soon.” He hung up the phone, and turned to Miller. “Bellamy disappeared.”

Miller’s eyes widened. “He what?”

“He just vanished from the airport,” Jackson said. “Clarke’s beside herself. Octavia said he was right behind her when they left customs, but by the time they got to baggage claim he was gone.”

There was no way Miller was getting back to sleep now. “What do we do?”

“Try not to panic,” Jackson said. “And let Monty and Jasper sleep. They don’t need to know yet.”

Miller shook his head. “They’d never forgive me if I kept this from them.”

“Nate,” Jackson started, but Monty had already thrown open the door. Hallway light spilled into the room, waking the two boys.

“Wake up,” Miller said as they peered groggily at him. “We’ve got an emergency. Bellamy’s missing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm on tumblr! @snowylexa


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shit gets real

Clarke paced in the driveway, hand cupping one ear as the phone rang with the other.

As usual, the call rolled to voicemail. “Hi, this is Bellamy Blake, and I'm probably taking a Bellamy Break. Leave your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as I possibly can.”

Fighting back tears, Clarke left her third message. “Bell, it’s me again. Please, please, please call me back. We don’t know where you are, and we don’t know what to do.”

“Clarke.”

Clarke lowered the phone, glancing towards the door. Monty was standing there, in a sweatshirt and old jeans, looking sad.

“I don’t know what to do,” Clarke mumbled.

“Come here.” Monty hugged her, and she rested her head on his shoulder briefly. “We’re going to find him. We’re going to.”

Headlights flashed, and Raven’s car came screeching up the driveway. She, Luna and Wells jumped out, circling around Clarke.

“Any news?” Raven asked breathlessly. Clarke shook her head.

“We’re going to find him,” Luna said confidently. “We will.”

…

Bellamy hammered on the door.

“ANYBODY?” he yelled. “ANYONE! PLEASE!”

For the last time, he desperately tried to get a cell signal. Nada. No Wi-Fi, no cell service. 

He wondered if Octavia and Clarke had any idea what had happened. He wondered if they were looking for him.

He pictured her round face, her blue eyes, her blonde hair. He’d been so close. So close to seeing her again.

He pounded on the door one more time.

So much for their big reunion, if he could never get out of here.

…

Abby hung up the phone and turned to the group.

“He’s not technically missing until you haven’t seen him in 24 hours,” she reported. “In this case, it’s 3:15, so it’s only been about three hours.”

“Damn it.” Clarke slammed her hand against the wall. “I haven’t seen him in a month!”

“Have we considered the possibility that he took off?” Jasper asked quietly.

“He wouldn’t have—” Clarke started, but Jasper shook his head.

“We have to consider all the possibilities.”

Monty dashed out of the room, reappearing seconds later with the detachable whiteboard used to write down the grocery lists. He quickly took a picture with his phone and erased the board, writing BELLAMY BLAKE at the top and underlining it.

“Write down ‘ran off,’” Jasper instructed, and Monty did so.

“I don’t believe that,” Octavia insisted. “Kidnapped. Write down ‘kidnapped.’”

Monty scrawled KIDNAPPED and stepped back. “How about, ‘lost’?” 

“There’s no way—” Miller started.

“We have to write down every possibility,” Jasper repeated. 

“It was between customs and baggage claim!” Octavia shouted. “It’s not like there’s anything there besides a bathroom!”

“We checked the bathroom,” Clarke said heavily. “There weren’t any other doors in that hallway, were there?”

Harper shook her head. “I didn’t see any.”

“We’re thinking about this wrong,” Raven said. “Even if we can determine how he went missing, it doesn’t help us figure out where he is now.” She glanced around the room. “Airports have security cameras. Gain access to them and we’ll know what happened to Bellamy.”

“You really think the airport is going to let us look at their cams?” Monroe said dubiously. 

“Maybe they don’t have to.” Raven raised an eyebrow at Monty.

“Raven, that’s a government facility!”

“Yeah.”

“It’s literally an act of terrorism!”

“It isn’t if we don’t get caught.”

“I think we’re better off just asking,” Wells hedged, but he was interrupted by Monty, still shouting over Raven.

“How are we going to help Bellamy if we’re all in prison for hacking into Trigeda International Airport?”

Raven huffed. “You have no faith in me.”

“The most you’ve ever hacked into is the Ben & Jerry’s website!”

Raven met his eyes. “That’s not true, and you know it.”

Monty opened his mouth. Closed it.

“Be it on your head,” he said darkly. “The rest of us weren’t here when you did it.”

“Copy that.” Raven glanced up at Clarke. “Do you still have my laptop?”

“The paper clip one you left at my house, like, eight years ago? It’s in the attic.”

“Good.”

“Well, okay.” Harper stretched and stood up. “I vote a few of us go back to the airport and case it. Look for any other entrances, whatever.”

“I’ll go,” Clarke said.

“Not you,” Monty said. “You’re going to stay here with me while I track his cell phone. Which means someone needs to leave their car here so we can take it if we find him.”

“You can take my car,” Raven called as she emerged with an object that vaguely resembled a computer. “I’m staying here.”

“Great, so the FBI can trace our location once they catch you?” Monty snapped.

“No, so that we can work together to get past the firewalls.” Raven’s fingers were already flying across the keys.

“Whatever.” 

…

"There's got to be something else we can try!" Clarke burst, 40 minutes later as Raven was still attacking the airport.

There was a desktop computer on the far wall, and Monty clicked to log Clarke into it. “Clarke. Do you know Bellamy’s iCloud password?”

“I know all of Bellamy’s passwords,” Clarke said. “They’re not difficult to figure out.”

Nudging Monty out of the way, she slid onto the white stool in front of the terminal, opened Chrome and typed in the iCloud website, entering Bellamy’s email address and password.

Monty’s eyes tracked her fingers as they sped across the keyboard. “His password is not seriously augustusdelinquents…”

The screen burst into a series of icons and Clarke snorted, sliding the mouse forward to click Find My iPhone. “Yup.”

“I’m in.” Raven’s voice was tense. “I have to move fast…they might know there’s someone else in the system but I’m covering my tracks.”

“Move fast.” Monty’s eyes flicked between the monitors. A compass was spinning back and forth on Clarke’s screen, while walls of code covered Raven’s. “Somehow, I prefer the legal way of doing this.”

“There!” Clarke’s hand shot forward. “He’s…what?”

“That’s his laptop,” Monty said. “It’s at the airport. Where’s his phone?”

“I don’t know.” Clarke zoomed into the airport. “Maybe it’s offline.”

“That’s really bad. Do another sweep. And make sure he didn’t leave it back home.” Monty glanced over at Raven’s screen. “Oh my God, are those the cameras?”

“Yeah, I’m accessing the live feed. I just need to figure out how to…” The rest of the sentence was mumbled under her breath as she scanned the monitors, toggling them back and forth.

“Hey, look!” Monty pointed as a flash of a red braid entered the screen, followed by the rest of a person. “There’s Monroe and Harper.”

“There’s Bellamy’s phone!” Clarke zoomed in. “They’re at the airport? I’m going to make it play a sound.”

“Okay,” Monty said. “Do it now.”

Clarke hit the button.

…

An earsplitting beep sounded. Monroe dropped into a crouch, feeling stupid, and Harper took off in the direction of it.

“That’s the iPhone indicator,” she said breathlessly as Monroe scrambled back to her feet. “Clarke must be trying it. Bellamy? Bellamy!”

“There.” Monroe beelined for a storage closet. “God. Damn it. It’s locked.”

“Girls?”

The two spun. A janitor was staring at them, apparently summoned by the noise.

“Can I help you?” he asked cautiously.

Harper opened her mouth, but Monroe elbowed her.

“I think my friend’s phone accidentally slid into that closet,” she said calmly. “Do you have the keys to it?”

“I do, actually,” he said, stepping forward and sorting through his tangled assortment of keys. “Here we go.”

Monroe held her breath as the door swung open.

A phone was lying on the floor, screen cracked, emitting a loud beep. As she bent down to grab it, the noise stopped.

“Is that his phone?” Harper whispered.

Monroe clicked the home button. The lock background was a picture of Clarke on a dock in front of a lake, mid-jump and laughing. 

“That’s his phone,” she said. Glancing up, she said, “Thank you, sir.”

“No problem,” the bewildered man said, closing the door and shuffling down the hallway.

As soon as he was out of sight, Harper tested the door. “He didn’t lock it.”

“So?” Monroe said bitterly. “Bellamy’s not in there, Harper.”

“He was in there,” Harper argued. “Maybe we’ll find something to point us towards where he went.”

“We should call Clarke first,” Monroe hedged. “Tell her we found the phone.”

“She’s probably watching us on the monitors, if Raven got in,” Harper said. 

“Or Raven got caught, the FBI is at Abby’s house right now, and Clarke has no idea,” Monroe said, unusually annoyed. “I’m calling Clarke.”

“Fine. I’m going to check out the closet.” Harper yanked open the door and flipped the light switch.

Monroe paced as the phone rang. Clarke picked it up in two rings. “Hello?”

“Are you watching?”

“We were, but Raven figured out how to check the history. Why, did you find him?”

“No,” she sighed. “We found his phone in a storage closet.”

“You found his phone?” Clarke repeated. Loudly. “In a storage closet?”

“Screen smashed, but it still works.”

“Bellamy’s screen was broken before,” Clarke said. “That doesn’t really tell us anything. Anyway, how can you be sure? He has an Otterbox case, same as practically everyone else on the planet.”

“Because your goddamn face is on the screen!” Monroe sighed, frustrated. “I don’t know what to tell you, Clarke. He’s not here.”

“Um, Zoe?”

Monroe jerked. She’d told Harper it was okay to call her that, but she still wasn’t entirely used to it.

“Did she just call you Zoe?” Clarke asked.

“Shut up, Clarke. What is it?” she asked, slightly crabbily.

“I think you need to see this.”

“I’ll call you back,” Monroe said quietly.

“No!” Clarke burst. “Give the phone to Harper.”

Silently, Monroe passed the phone over and walked inside the closet. Blinking. Unwilling to comprehend.

“Yeah,” Harper was saying. “Yeah. It’s a goddamn puddle of blood.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: @snowylexa


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wow this was supposed to be fluffy and its gonna get worse before it gets better but its still about the fourth of july party i promise that will happen

“Did she say blood?” Raven demanded.

“Focus on your damn job,” Monty said tersely. 

“Finding Bellamy is my damn job.” Raven’s fingers flew across the keyboard. “What time did he go missing?”

“Monitor between 12:10 and 12:20 AM,” Monty said.

“Got it.” 

Meanwhile, Clarke was rapidly shouting on the phone, while Harper shouted back. At some points she was sliding into Trigedasleng, the second language she’d picked up from Bellamy's family, and Monty could hear Harper yelling, “I CAN’T UNDERSTAND YOU!”

“Em ste nou hir!” Clarke yelled. “He’s missing, Harper! He’s not at the airport!”

“I got that,” Harper gritted. “What do you want us to do, Clarke?”

“Hod op,” she said, a lot calmer. “Sorry. Wait for Raven to get the cameras—”

“Got it,” Raven said. “12:10 AM. People are slowly moving through customs. Clarke, tell me if you recognize anyone.”

“There. That woman in the blue headscarf, she came in about three minutes before Octavia,” Clarke said. “And the little girl with the red hair, with Reese Lemkin on her backpack.”

“Want me to fast-forward?” Raven’s hand inched towards the keys. 

“Just...two minutes,” Clarke said. At some point, she’d hung up with Harper. “Wait! Stop!” 

But Raven had spotted it, too. “There they are.”

Clarke’s heart leapt. There he was, all tangled hair and freckles, a boy with his little sister by his side. Octavia tossed her hair as they walked, and the two were laughing. 

“Is there audio?” Clarke asked. "No, wait, I might be able to tell what they're saying. Definitely my name…sta sed raun…raunkova."

"What the hell does that mean?" Raven demanded. 

"'Clarke is waiting at the carousel,'" Clarke translated. "It's not secret code, Raven, it's just Trigedasleng."

They watched as Octavia sidled ahead, presumably rushing towards Clarke. 

And Bellamy, racing to keep up after his sister...

“That’s the entrance to baggage claim,” Clarke said slowly. “But I saw Octavia by then. Bellamy wasn’t there.”

“Wait.” Raven paused. “This has been edited.”

“Edited?” Clarke said doubtfully. “Edited by who?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m going to find out.”

“This is advanced,” Monty said. “But you’re right. Someone replaced this with the exact same frame—see how Bellamy’s arm is slightly cut off? What I don’t understand is, how did the federal fucking government not notice this?”

Raven swore loudly. “We’ve been had. I have to shut this down before they trace me.”

Working quickly, she opened and shut down windows, one by one. Monty watched her, tracking her progress, while Clarke squinted in disbelief, completely unaware of anything that was happening. 

“Where’s the original footage?” she demanded. 

“I could probably find it if I tried to get in again,” she said. “But, Clarke, this is more than your average disappearance. This was planned.”

“Tell me you saved the footage, at least,” Monty said. 

“Yeah.” Raven relinquished the keyboard. “Screen recorded. Have at it.”

Monty reached over to access the video. Scrolling forward, he paused at the moment right before Bellamy disappeared. 

“There’s the storage closet,” he said. “The door is open. If I can just...”

“Oh,” Raven breathed. “You think someone’s in there?”

“I need to brighten it up without losing the quality.”

“Chit de jok,” Clarke mumbled, mostly for Raven's benefit. 

Five minutes later, they had it. 

“There’s a face I.D.,” Raven said proudly. “That’s Becca Pramheda, owner of City of Light Technology. I don't know who's beside her."

Monty swiveled. “How do you know?”

Clarke typed Becca’s name into Google, a list of results coming up. A dark-haired, attractive woman in her mid-thirties. Prominent cheekbones, a wide smile. And a giant technology company at her feet. 

“This is insane,” Monty said. “You’re not seriously saying that Becca goddamn Pramheda kidnapped Bellamy.” He looked between the two of them. “I’ll bet you my rent money that the computer you’re using right now has the infinity symbol on the back.”

“I won’t take that bet, because you’re right,” Clarke muttered. She glanced at Becca, then the grainy face on the screen. 

It was her, alright. 

The phone buzzed, and Clarke grabbed it. It was Monroe, clueless and concerned. 

“We know who kidnapped Bellamy,” Clarke said quickly. 

“What?” Monroe burst. “Who is it?”

“It’s Becca Pramheda,” Clarke said. 

Becca, who spoke Trigedasleng. Becca, who had probably heard Octavia and Bellamy speaking it as well. Becca, who had the access to all of Bellamy’s information, medical history, and everything saved on his COL phone. 

It wasn’t random at all. 

“Becca could be tracking everything on this computer,” Monty said suddenly. “First thing’s first...” He lowered his voice. “Disconnect every COL device in this house. Shut it down. Turn it off. I don’t want anyone spying on us.”

For the first time, it struck Clarke that this was a real situation. Bellamy wasn’t just missing, he was part of a government conspiracy. 

So much for their Fourth of July party.

…

“Clarke hasn’t called us once,” Emori said. “She doesn’t even notice we aren’t there.”

“Maybe she is trying to call,” Murphy said. “And we just aren’t getting it because of the lack of phone service.”

“Stupid car.” Emori slammed her hand onto the dashboard. “It’s 4. We’re five hours late and no one’s come down this road.”

“Hey.” Murphy sighed. “They’ll come looking for us. Find a way to contact us. Keep trying to send our location.”

Emori squinted as a truck slowed. “Here we go,” she said. “This guy will help us.”

Murphy leapt from the car, waving the truck to the side of the road. 

“What’s the problem?” a gruff voice said. 

“Rental car broke down,” Murphy explained. “We don’t have service. We were wondering if you did, or if you could help get it working.”

“I can give you a lift to the nearest service station.” The man shifted, and his face was revealed. “But I can’t take very long.”

“On your way somewhere important?” Murphy asked, trying to be as polite as possible, hoping the guy wasn’t a serial killer. 

“Yeah,” he grunted. “After my insufferable mother. Name’s Roan Azgeda.”

“I’m Murphy,” Murphy offered. “This is…” He hesitated, unsure if Emori would want to disclose her name.

“Emori,” she interrupted after a pause. “So, what did your mother do?”

Murphy quickly locked the car as Emori climbed into the truck beside him and shut the door, keeping one hand over the lock.

“If I told you, you wouldn’t let me try to stop her.”

“Try us,” Murphy suggested.

“Hell, maybe you could even help,” Roan said. “I mean, you probably have somewhere to be, but if you helped, I could give you a hand fixing your car.”

Murphy glanced at Emori.

“Seems risky,” she whispered. “Serial killer?”

“We could take him,” Murphy joked under his breath.

“Got a knife?”

“In my pocket.”

Aloud, Emori said, “Tell us the situation. We’ll help you.”

“Great,” Roan sighed, relieved. “My mother and sister are working with Becca Pramheda. You know, the founder of COL Tech? They kidnapped a guy to try to get to his friend.”

Emori’s eyes widened. “Who’s the friend? Must be important.”

“Don’t know her first name. She’s an expert engineer, knows how to hack government websites, and they want her to help design an A.I.”

Murphy’s eyes widened. “Do you know her last name? Maybe we’ve heard of her.”

“Don’t think you would have. It’s Reyes.”

Murphy’s eyes locked on Emori’s. The unspoken words between them were clear: It was Raven, almost certainly.

‘Wait a minute.” Emori grabbed the handle, connecting dots in her head. “Who was the friend they kidnapped?”

“Emori, it’s us! Go!” Murphy shouted, lunging over her and swinging the door open. 

“Wait, wait, wait!” Roan screeched to a halt. “Are you friends with Reyes?”

“We’re on our way to visit her,” Murphy said.

“John,” Emori hissed.

“If this is a trap, we’re already in it,” he countered.

“No. Please.” Roan pulled to the side of the road. “If you’re friends with Reyes, maybe you know who they kidnapped.”

They shook their heads. “A bunch of us are gathering this weekend,” Emori said. “We’d have to call Clarke. Find out who’s missing.”

“Unless it’s Clarke,” Murphy hedged.

Emori snorted. “God help anyone who tries to kidnap Clarke.”

“We’re almost within range of service.” Roan said, starting up the truck again. “Two minutes. Call your friend and ask her who didn’t show up.”

“She’s gonna say us,” Emori muttered, but stared at her phone until a signal emerged. Letting out a triumphant yell, she immediately dialed Clarke’s cell phone number.

And waited.

…

As Clarke reached to power off her phone, it buzzed.

“Oh my God,” she said. “I forgot about Murphy and Emori! They were supposed to be here hours ago!”

“Answer it,” Raven instructed. “What if they’re with Bellamy?”

“What if they’re not?” Monty countered.

Clarke pressed the answer button. “Where the hell are you?”

“We’re so sorry,” Emori burst. “We got stuck and had no signal. Listen, we know someone didn’t show up that was supposed to, and we know what happened, too.”

“What?” Clarke almost dropped the phone. “This is Emori, right?”

“Clarke, just tell me who it is!”

“FaceTime me,” Clarke said tersely, ending the call.

A moment later, a FaceTime call emerged. Clarke answered the phone, moving her face out of the light.

But, to her relief, Emori answered within seconds. “Clarke!”

“I had to make sure it was really you,” Clarke said. “Bellamy’s missing, Emori. How the hell do you know where he is?”

Half of Murphy’s face appeared on the screen. “We made a friend,” he said. “Listen, Clarke, they’re not after Bellamy. Becca’s using him. Who she really wants is Raven.”

“What?” Raven demanded.

“Is that her?” a deeper voice echoed offscreen.

“That’s Reyes,” Murphy confirmed.

“Who wants me?” Raven repeated. “What the hell is going on?”

“Okay. This is Roan Azgeda,” Murphy said, moving the camera to land on his face. 

“Wait a minute.” Raven shot to her feet, grabbing the phone from Clarke. “Nia Azgeda’s son?”

“The very same.”

“Who—” Clarke started.

“Roan? The kid who was excommunicated from the family because he didn’t want to join City of Light?” Raven shook her head. “How did you find him?”

“He said he’d give us a lift to the nearest service station. He’s in pursuit of his mom and sister, who have Bellamy captive.”

“And you’re going to get him back,” Clarke echoed.

“We’re going to get him back.”

“You know my name now, anyway,” Roan said wryly. “I couldn’t really turn on you if I wanted to. All I want is to stop my family from doing this.”

“Copy that.” Raven’s eyes flicked to Murphy and Emori. “You two, be careful. Please. Make it here safely.”

Murphy shook his head. “Not without Bellamy.”

…

“Where are you taking me?”

“Shut up,” the beautiful girl spat at him, tossing her hair. “Mother, how far to Polis?”

“About thirty minutes,” the woman replied. “Keep him quiet, O.”

Bellamy’s head jerked up at the nickname, but there was no Octavia, only the girl sitting next to him, glaring down at him.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Be quiet, I said.” With a flick of her wrist, she placed a knife to his neck.

Knife. Bad. With his hands and feet tied, there was only so much he could do.

“It’s alright,” the woman replied, amused. “Bellamy Blake, I am Nia Azgeda, and this is my daughter Ontari. We work for City of Light Technology, under Becca Pramheda.”

Ontari. That explained the nickname.

“How do you know my name?” Bellamy croaked.

“Well, I’ll let you in on a secret,” the woman—Nia—replied. “We’re not really after you, Bellamy Blake. You’re just the bait.”

“The bait?” he repeated.

“For your friend.” Nia’s smile was glittering. “We need her expertise. At this moment, she is currently hacking into a government facility, trying to infiltrate it and find out where you went, and that’s the kind of person we need to help take over the world.”

…

“You’re benched.”

Monty stood, arms folded, making it clear he would take no sides in this discussion, but Raven was furious.

“Like hell I am!” Raven spat. “Like I’m going to let you all go off to war for Bellamy without me!”

“They’re after you, Raven!” Clarke shouted. “We are not sacrificing you for Bellamy!”

“We have an edge,” Monty said finally. “They probably expect you to go after him.”

“As I should!”

“No,” Clarke said coolly. “End of discussion. You want to hear the cold, hard truth? You’re a liability. You’re a wanted person and you have a bad leg. We can’t get to Bellamy without you.”

“We should get her somewhere safe,” Monty hedged as Raven gaped, speechless.

“Safe?”

Monty edged towards Clarke’s phone. “Yeah, like Wells’ house.”

Clarke, understanding the memo, slid towards the phone as well. “Right. I can drive her over there.”

“Let’s do that now.”

Before Raven could say anything, Monty swiftly reached over and shut the phone off.

“Did you disconnect all the devices?” he whispered.

“I’ll put her in the attic,” Clarke said.

“What?”

“You’re going to hide in the attic,” Clarke said. “Becca, if she was listening, now thinks you’re going to be at the Jaha’s.”

“Clarke…”

“If you’re going to tell me to let you fight with us, you’re not going to hear that from me,” Clarke said fiercely.

“No.” Raven shook her head. “I just wanted to tell you to be careful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: @snowylexa


End file.
